Tales of a Bounty Hunter
by BreadCrumble
Summary: Everyone starts from a small beginning. Even the most feared bounty hunter of the Underworld has his own story to tell. Now rated T for slight swearing. (Don't expect Rufus to be writing "Dear Diary that".)
1. Disymbreus (Age: 8)

Hi everyone! BreadCrumble (formerly Jinno) here! I'm now only writing leisurely just to brush up my English writing because high school is going to be a pain in the neck for sure...well that's what my upperclassmen say to me.

Note: I view Rufus/Luxus as mature for his age. So don't be surprised if his vocab seems quite advanced for an 8-year-old.

This will be from when he was 8 years old, to *hopefully* when he joins the Grand Chase at 20 years old.

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own Grand Chase or any of its characters. They all belong to KoG Studios. I only own the plot. Rufus owns this journal! /shot/

* * *

**Disymbreus, year of Luxia**

Current Age: 8 Demonic Years

**First Week **

I'm not sure if Legis is trying to show how illiterate I am by gifting me this dingy notebook for my birthday. He just shoved it to my face and told me to do something useful with it.

I'll prove him wrong. Still, it is mostly his fault for not bothering to finish my enrolling into a school system. If only he wasn't so hooked up into bounty hunting, maybe he would actually give a thought about my education. He never told me why, more of I never really asked him why. Not like I could, since he barely stays at home even for meals.

Most of Legis' friends in the neighborhood wonder why despite the tremendous amount of money he receives from a single bounty, he never pampered the two of us with great feasts or butlers and maids rushing about. I mean, my birthday presents for these past years were more or less just a cheap store bought card and this dirty old notebook this year.

I wouldn't know why he's like this. Maybe I'll ask him about these when he returns in two weeks time.

* * *

**Second Week**

It's possible to die of boredom in my house. Well, it's still Legis' house but he rarely stays in it anyway. It is actually more interesting to read one of those 500-page "Guns for Dummies" manuals lying around the house.

I think I mentioned that Legis is a bounty hunter fanatic.

I don't want to be like him.

Not like I can.

Even if I did try, I might just be wasting my time and energy.

As you can see, not like you can see since you're just a crummy notebook, my right eye appears to look normal but in fact, it's lacking those thingies the local doctor calls "the seeing part". I think the doc was just trying to break it to my family in a mild manner that I'm half blind. I didn't really care. For some reason, I could still see the Underworld perfectly, even with just one eye. I never had trouble walking in the dark or throwing stones on a mark when there's nothing to do.

But Legis seems so bothered about it…

* * *

**Third Week**

My father just arrived home, bringing a large sack, which I assumed was the spoils he got from his mission and as well as the cash reward. I brought up the question.

"Legis, how come you never bothered sending me to a school?" I asked him over dinner.

"Is that how you call your own father?"

"Well, you told me last time to not call you those cheesy father names." I had a talent of twisting a demon's words to backfire on them.

"Hmf…because someone else will be more worth investing on. Obviously, it's not you." He gruffly answered. Legis was no more than 30 demonic years but his voice was that of someone who went through puberty twice. His voice was deep and stern and he usually barked and not spoke.

I was used to his manner of speaking and he never was the type to mince his words carefully. After that explanation, he sent me up to my room and here I am, writing my thoughts of what had just happened.

I want to prove him wrong and show him that I am worthy investment. But how? That would mean I'd have to be a Bounty Hunter of sorts.

…And I would want to avoid going down that path as much as possible.

* * *

**Fourth Week**

I seem to be only writing about Legis, not like I can stop, since nothing ever happens here at the house but me staring about and him shouting in my ear whenever he comes home from a bad day.

I wish mother were here, she always painted a smile on Legis' face. She was the one who brought up the topic on my education and future to him. She would take me on walks early in the morning and tell me stories of her adventures and missions at night. She always looked after the house and me whenever she was on a day-off.

But she just suddenly disappeared.

I was only a tyke when she…went missing, as what Legis said. Legis told me one day that she went on a mission to another world and never came back.

Obviously, I don't believe this. My mother was just as skilled as Legis in bounty hunting (and that's how they met too), surely Legis skewed up the story somehow. Ever since she "disappeared" though, Legis has been working full time on the most difficult missions and dangerous bounties, and of course, that rolled in a lot of dough…for him that is. With this, he spent less hours at home and usually when he doesn't have a mission, he goes training in some mountain with what most say where iron dragons are born.

I wouldn't be surprised if one day, that man would collapse after working himself to death. I might actually be glad.

* * *

Jinno: How was that for chapter 1? xD

Rufus: You suck, and I don't write "dear diary" stuff when I was a kid.

Jinno: Then what do you do? You molest Di-

Rufus: SHUT UP *Bullet Time*

Half dead Jinno: Please R&R and tell me if I should continue or not...


	2. Jarnius (Age: 8)

**Jarnius, year of Gora**

Current Age: 8 Demonic Years

**First Week **

I spoke too soon about him collapsing while on a mission. Well, more of, his guild gave him a month's worth of a break. I didn't even know that he was given a break or he secretly went back to those dreaded mountains without even going home. I only found out when I went out of the house to buy necessities for the house. I just overheard some adults gossiping about how a chestnut-haired man went insane and started gunning down iron dragons on a mountain. They said that he was responsible for the endangerment of those species. I don't think they were angry or anything, I mean, most dragons are dangerous and trying to fight one is like getting a one way trip to the Soul Stalkers to judge.

I could say though, Legis was already insane ever since mother "disappeared".

* * *

**Second Week**

I think I wrote here that Legis never bothered with hiring a butler or someone else to take charge of the stuff mother used to do for the house.

It's nothing really unusual for children to be doing a servant's tasks. Not everyone here in the Underworld was well-off enough to afford such. What's unusual is that an unprotected, "half-blind" 8-year old son of one of the wealthiest Bounty Hunters casually goes to the public market every week, even if he is endangered of suddenly getting kidnapped for ransom and such.

Fortunately, the worst hasn't happened.

It's all for survival. The Association of Soul Stalkers, which is the guild Legis is in, has their own supplies so he could pretty much steal from there and wouldn't give a care about me. If I didn't look after myself, my soul would most likely be chatting with the king of Hell at the moment.

Even if I am endangered of getting kidnapped, and I have to thank Legis' influence for that, I have this second talent that prevents such from happening. Maybe this is the one thing special about me, besides making Legis' words backfire on him, I am able to slip into crowds without being noticed at all. Perhaps it's an ability I got from both Legis and mother. I mean, chances are that this trait wouldn't be passed on to their kid would be low since they were both nimble Bounty Hunters. Being stealthy was a must for them.

I could run a whole block without catching anyone's attention, may it be crowded or not. I can probably even steal for myself, though I wouldn't want to try.

But I wonder why I never considered running away from this dreaded place.

* * *

**Third Week**

Legis sent a mail to the house using Selion, one of his personal dragon carriers. He stated that he wouldn't be back from his hunt, or better yet his "killing spree", until the start of Febreus so I'd better make myself useful while at home.

Have I not been doing that, being useful for the past 8 years of my life?

I can guess most demons would wonder how a kid like me is able to get a hold of a great amount of cash to buy in the marketplace. It's rather simple. Legis is rarely at home, as I wrote earlier, even if he's on a break, he's still out there beating himself half to death. So the ASS (his guild) would send a portion of the reward money he gets to the house via dragon carrier.

How I love toying with the name of his guild. I wonder if anyone else noticed its acronym.

You may be asking, what's a 'dragon carrier'? Obviously, you wouldn't know, you're just a brainless notebook. Putting it simply, these are worthless dragons that don't have any other capabilities besides flight. They are the lowest of all the dragons and even I snicker at how miserable their lives must be, just flying out in the open every single day.

But I envy how they are free to live their lives and fly away without any boundaries.

* * *

**Fourth Week**

One of the biggest surprises came today. Legis returned a week earlier than I had expected. I wasn't at the door to open it for him so he kinda just shot the lock open and let himself in. (Note to self, I'll need to get a new one later in the marketplace).

He was holding up a paper and called for me into his room. I knew this was something serious since he NEVER allows me in his own room.

His room was about the size of the dining room. Different types of model guns were placed on top of wooden tables. There were heads of different monsters hammered on plaques that were hung up on a wall. Legis just watched in silence as I gaped at how his room looked like.

"About the last time I said you weren't a worthy investment, I changed my mind, Rufus."

My face lit up when I heard these words.

"You're only going to slack off if I left you here in the Underworld. Perhaps a trip to someplace else would make you more useful, ney?"

I've never learned of any place other than the Underworld. I mean are there other demons that didn't look like us? That had wings or horns? Mutants maybe. Wouldn't want to see one of those.

Eitherway, Legis told me to pack my belongings, well, which were more or less just a few sets of clothing and this dirty notebook because he agreed to bring me with him on his next Bounty Hunter mission. I wouldn't be holding the guns, of course, but he wanted me to learn something new. He never told me what, most likely something to do with bounty hunting - something I can never and will never do.

He said we were going to a place called Aernas in two weeks.


	3. Febreus (Age: 8)

**Febreus, year of Gora **

Current Age: 8 Demonic Years

**First Week **

Not much has happened even after Legis said we were going to this place "Aernas" within the month. His break just recently ended, so he's back to his usually routine of sending souls to the Underworld in cold blood then coming home reeking of gunpowder. He still barks at me and shows little-to-no care about what is going on at home.

I honestly don't have much to write here but there was one thing that caught my eye from Legis' stash of files that he left lying on the cupboard after dinner. I was cleaning up the place after he had gone to his room.

It was a letter that he was planning to mail using a dragon carrier. It was to someone from Aernas. I couldn't remember the name, it was quite long, (Crayon something I think) but I do remember the address was not someplace in the Underworld so it's probably in Aernas.

Later in the week, Legis mailed that letter. I think he may have forgotten to do so if he didn't see me loitering near his stash of files the other day. He snatched the mail from me and dusted it a bit while muttering something about minding my own business.

As if bounty hunters don't have secrets to hide. Obviously, that mail was one of Legis' millions of secrets. Why should I not mind his business?

* * *

**Second Week**

Finally, one more night and I'll be out of this wretched place.

I'm not sure if I should be excited that I would see a different sight other than the four walls of the house or nervous at what might become of this trip. Apprehensive perhaps? Not really. It's as if my own emotions are at war against each other. I wanted to go to this place Aernas so badly, but at the same time, I had the desire to run away, far from Legis and what he plans to do with me in that unknown place.

"_About the last time I said you weren't a worthy investment, I changed my mind."_

Those were the only words that comforted me to just hold on.

* * *

**Third Week**

First thing I'd like to point out: it's not easy writing on your own lap while riding on a train that moves and suddenly stops for no reason.

Legis never told me that it would take about a week or two to reach Aernas. More so, he never told me we had to board a train to get there. I imagined there would be a tunnel connecting to this place called Aernas or perhaps Legis would use some voodoo magic of some sort to transport us to Aernas.

And being the only _living_ passengers on this train freaks me out too.

There wasn't much to do on the way to Aernas. When I first stepped onto the train, I nearly let out a scream, had Legis not grabbed my mouth to signal me to shut up. I was about to scream because the first passenger that I saw was a dark figure, wore tattered clothes and it gave me an eerie grin. I tried to squirm out of Legis' grasp but he had an iron grip, one hand to my mouth and he clamped both my wrists together. With a light push, we walked towards the front of the train, away from the spectre-like things. I didn't like the fact that their gazes trailed us.

As we were nearing the front area, the spectres were escorted out of the train by men clad in blue uniforms and giant wooden shields.

Those guys (both conductors and passengers) surely look like skeletons draped on with clothing…

Upon arriving at the seats reserved for us, Legis released me and plopped down onto the window seat, leaving me to take the aisle-side one. I sat down and just stared down at my feet to avoid making eye contact on anyone.

That was when Legis told me what this trip would be.

"You're going to become a top bounty hunter, kid."

"What?" I looked up at Legis. This was the first conversation we had since he summoned me to his room.

"Don't make me repeat myself. And bounty hunters don't keep diaries like that." He pointed at this notebook.

"Neither do they sneak out of work to go on vacation." I retorted.

That silenced him. Aha! So he wasn't going to Aernas for a mission but for another break. I held a calm voice when I said that comeback. Inside, however, I felt my heart beat faster and it felt as if it would leap out of my mouth if we got to Aernas.

I looked out of the window, to see if I was jumping distance but I felt a pit in my stomach when I saw where we were. Pitch black skies with blue auroras from the clouds and there was a thick layer of fog below. Most likely a bottomless pit was what lay underneath the murky fog.

I've always felt a burning on my chest, my burning hatred for Legis and his job.

But now, I felt that burning in my eyes.

* * *

**Fourth Week**

Legis spent most of the train ride sleeping or polishing his guns. As a kid, I was quite restless during the ride after what Legis said about me becoming a cold-blooded murderer. Even his words of making me a good investment no longer comforted me, now that I knew what his true purpose was for me.

I tried to calm my nerves by going forth and back on the train. It moved in an unpredictable manner, stopping from time to time so that a spectre could enter or exit.

Where ever we stopped, I never knew.

Legis didn't care about me roaming around but he did tell me to never enter beyond the third car of the train.

Naturally, I would break any rule of his.

When Legis was fast asleep, and I was sure none of the conductors would be roaming near the entrance of each car, I crept to the forbidden car. It was very dark but I could still see my two feet, so I walked along. It got boring so I turned back.

Then I heard a sobbing noise.

I didn't want to prolong my stay in there, so I dashed out of the car and back to my seat.

Dammit, why am I such a coward when it comes to these things. Screw that, I'll go back there tomorrow and see for myself that it's nothing to be afraid of, compared to what will happen to me in 3 days.

Only 3 more days to go before I am led to what would become of me…

…a bounty hunter.

* * *

((A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay...I wasn't able to find a computer with internet for the past week. School's starting by next week so I'll try uploading until Chapter 5 before next week kicks in! Thank you!))


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